Toronto News ~ Toronto Focus

John Tory supports ranked ballots in the next civic election. This is great news.

The "first past the post" system we currently have forces people like me to vote strategically instead of voting for the person they'd like to lead. For example, those who wanted Olivia Chow to win, but were afraid a vote for Chow would help Doug Ford win, would be able to rank their candidates so a vote for Chow isn't a vote for Ford.

This video explains how it works.

Ranked ballots all but sink Ford Nation, so there's that added benefit as well.

The average cost of a detached home in Toronto is now $1,040,018, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. For the first time ever, we've cleared the $1-million mark.

I recently bought a detached home in Toronto, but I could never afford a price tag even close to $1-million. The once modest dream of owning a detached home in a nice Toronto neighbourhood is now out of reach for so many.

Digging a little deeper, it's not all doom and gloom. The average price of a home in Toronto is $596,193, if you include semi-detached, townhouses and condos. That's still an awfully high price for your average hard working Toronto family.

Pursuit of Happiness - I'm An Adult Now (original version)

If I could go back in time and visit one Toronto landmark that no longer exists, I'd attend a baseball game at Maple Leaf Stadium.

Maple Leaf Stadium existed at Bathurst Street and Lake Shore Boulevard West and seated about 13,000 people. The field was natural grass, of course, and it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club from 1926 to 1967.

When the Maple Leafs left Toronto for Louisville, Kentucky after the 1967 season, they decided to demolish Maple Leaf Stadium rather than maintain it in a city without a professional baseball team. You'll find apartment buildings there now.

Here are some photos of old Maple Leaf Stadium, courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. It's a shame we didn't keep her.

It's interesting to note that Harold Ballard considered buying the team and stadium after the 1967 season, but decided the price was too high. The NHL Maple Leafs haven't won the Stanley Cup since.

The last four years have been a political nightmare for this city, but it has shed light on how little power Toronto's mayor actually holds. The mayor of Toronto is more of a figurehead with merely a single vote at council. As we learned first hand, you're better off with no mayor than a bad mayor, but a bad mayor can cause little actual damage beyond embarrassment and shame.

There are three candidates who will share the bulk of votes cast in this municipal election, and only one would make a lousy mayor. Doug Ford has demonstrated time and time again that he would be unable to work with council and other levels of government to reach consensus and move this city forward. And when you can't do that, you've given up your primary power as mayor. We'd be far better off with no mayor than Doug Ford as mayor.

That leaves Olivia Chow and John Tory, and I believe both would make fine mayors of this city. Yes, my values and ideals better align with Chow's, but John Tory would represent this city with dignity, would work well with council and other levels of government and would help us rebuild after four years in the wilderness.